Syrian City Faces Massacre as ISIS Advances

The Syrian city of Kobani is facing capture by the terrorist group the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and residents fear the terrorists will massacre Kurdish inhabitants when it happens.

This news comes on the heels of President Obama’s claim that intelligence officials, rather than he, is to blame for underestimating ISIS.

According to CNN, ISIS is only two miles east of Kobani, and their march toward the city has not been hindered by airstrikes. “If ISIS takes Kobani, it would control a complete swath of land from its self-declared capital of Raqqa to the Turkish border, more than 100 kilometers (more than 60 miles) away.”

Kobani official Idriss Nassan is begging for help: “We need help. We need weapons. We need more effective airstrikes. If the situation stays like this we will see a massacre. I can’t imagine what will happen if ISIS gets inside Kobani.”

Rudaw reports that Syria cannot use its air force to help Kobani because of the city’s close proximity to the Turkish border.

Ali Haidar, Syrian’s state minister for National Reconciliation, said, “[Kobani] is a Syrian city … which lies very close to the Turkish border. We have a standoff with the Turkish government and this is why our air force could not fly [to help Kobani].” In light of this situation, Haidar stressed that Syria’s lack of support for Kobani was not a political one, but a “military issue.”

With the Syrian air force unable to help, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’ Rami Abdulrahman asks why the U.S. cannot focus airstrikes on ISIS militants near Kobani?